MCU14/106 Appendix I - Visual Amenity Integration

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2.4           Screening/visual integration capacity
The SBC currently appears well-integrated within its natural setting, and provides a ‘Noosa style’ shopping
centre different from those in other coastal cities and towns, mainly due to the vegetative screening from
external views. Trees and shrubs have been retained in many places around the edges of development (the
landform has allowed ‘at grade’ development with minimal earthworks) and supplemented by additional
planting. Where development has taken place between the ring road and Eenie Creek Road (eg. in Precinct
B3), passing motorists can glimpse buildings (Figure 6), but where the ‘outer ring’ precincts remain
undeveloped bushland, the Noosa Civic buildings and carpark are completely screened from external view.
The native regrowth vegetation on and surrounding the SBC is multi-layered and has excellent capacity for
visual screening, especially along edges exposed to sunshine. The mid-storey shrubs and tall tufting plants
of the understorey have the capacity to thicken their foliage density in full sun.
The proposed Noosa Civic expansion mostly in Precinct E1 (inside the ring road) will be visually screened
from external views (Walter Hay Drive) by existing dense bushland in the ‘outer ring’ Precincts E6, E7 and
OS3, for at least several years until E6 and E7 are developed, and thereafter will be largely screened by
building and landscaping in those precincts, as well as by retained vegetation in the narrow roadside band of
OS3 open space. Closely spaced trees and dense shrub vegetation not only provide effective screening for
buildings (as shown in Figure 9) but the tall vertical trees (see Figure 5C) also provide a strong visual
backdrop which frames and dominates low-rise built form.




 Figure 6A: B3 buildings screened from Eenie Creek Road      Figure 6B: B3 buildings screened from Eenie Creek
 by retained dense bushland.                                 Road, even where band of retained vegetation is
                                                             narrow.

While E6 and E7 remain undeveloped, the proposed development will be mainly screened from external
views. Parts of the building and its folded roof plane may be glimpsed from Walter Hay Drive, as seen
between trees by passing motorists or through gaps corresponding to the northern and southern roundabout
entries, although in both cases the built form will be visually subordinate to the band of tall forest (exceeding
20m in height) in Covenant J. Views from the northern entry will include the northern narrow ‘point’ of the
wedge-shaped built form, with its trellis extensions into the landscaped civic space, but will be more
dominated by trees in Covenant J and the ‘restored forest’ zone (see Figure 1). Views from the southern
roundabout to the rear (south-eastern) corner of the proposed development (the supermarket building) will
be largely screened by a band of tall dense vegetation to be retained (as shown in Figure 8B). The road
geometry and sightlines will also assist in screening the proposed development, as will the band of native
vegetation to be retained in open space alongside Walter Hay Drive (OS3.), which will develop denser shrub
foliage when exposed to full sunlight.
As seen from the ring road, the proposed buildings and carpark areas will be visible, but will be part-
screened by a band of vegetation varying in width from 3m to 15m and will appear integrated within a forest
setting due to the height and density of trees in Covenant J, and because the building will be low profile,
well-articulated and shaded by the overhanging roof plane. Passing motorists will perceive the buildings as
visually subordinate to the natural and planted landscape, due to the:
         low profile built form, narrow ‘wedge-point’ northern end, articulated eastern walls and overhanging
          roof form;